UK flights resume

21/04/2010

By Nick Jones.

Airports around Britain have begun to see UK holidaymakers return through the arrivals gate after aerospace above northern Europe was opened.

Ash from the erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland had grounded most flights into the country over the weekend.

With Heathrow and other major facilities remaining closed as late as yesterday evening (April 20th) while European countries allowed their airports to open, the move was welcomed by frustrated airlines.

Although the transport secretary Lord Adonis claimed that safety was of "paramount concern" during the closures, Willie Walsh, chief of British Airways, expressed criticisms of the government's decisions during the disruption.

He said: "I don't believe it was necessary to impose a blanket ban on all UK airspace."

It was recently revealed that the cancellation of flights from Birmingham International Airport caused by the volcanic ash was costing the facility between £250,000 and £300,000 per day while planes were grounded.